Tennessee
With his "Dennis Quaid" good looks, his abiltiy to write and perform songs that touch your heart, and a smooth vocal style influenced by many of the greats in country music ... Kevin Weldon mesmorizes his audiences! Kevin Blake Weldon, born and raised in Lufkin, Texas, began his career in country music in 1990, three years after he ?discovered? his voice in a recording studio at Astroworld theme park in Houston, Texas! ?Everyone who heard the song I recorded at Astroworld, couldn?t believe it was me! My friends and family never dreamed that I liked to sing, must less that I COULD sing.? After almost three years of developing his voice and style by performing to music tracks in clubs and bars all over Southeast Texas, Kevin put together his first band ? ?Blake Weldon and the Texas Firewater!? Their first performance together was an appearance on ?Hot Country Trax,? a Country Music program which aired every Sunday night on KPRC Channel 2 in Houston. With the exposure from that performance, ?Blake Weldon and Texas Firewater? began working throughout the Houston area and were soon opening for several major acts. With his popularity rising, Kevin and his band (by this time known as Texas Fire) entered the Coors Light Texas Music/93Q Battle of the Bands. By Summer?s end they beat over 50 of Houston?s best bands to win the title! Kevin recalls, ?The show we put on for the Battle of the Bands finals was one of the best performances I?ve ever had! Everything just came together for us that night and it was almost magical. I knew that night that I would eventually get a major record deal.? And that?s just what happened. A few months later, several record producers from Nashville were scouting Kevin, one of which was Chuck Howard. Kevin made several trips to Nashville to develop his studio voice and songwriting talent, and was soon paired with a young man from Temple, Texas named Brian Gowan. Under the guidance of Chuck and Mike Curb, head of Curb Records, the duo ?Blake and Brian? was formed and signed to Curb Records. Over the next 3 1/2 years, the new duo released two top 40 hits (?Another Perfect Day? and ?The Wish?), a number one hit in Europe (?Amnesia?), had music videos on CMT, GAC, and TNN, were featured on several national television appearances, and toured and opened shows for many of today?s hottest stars including Lonestar, Lee Ann Rimes, Joe Diffie, Tracy Bird, Patty Loveless, Jo Dee Messina, Trace Adkins, Wynonna and many more! In February of 1999, after careful consideration and soul searching, the duo parted ways to pursue solo careers! Kevin returned home to Lufkin, Texas to be close to his two beautiful daughters and to record his first solo CD ?HOLD ON.? With 8 songs on the CD written or co-written by Kevin, ?HOLD ON? yielded a top 20 hit on the Texas Music Chart (?Here Goes?). After receiving positive response to the CD, Kevin packed up and headed back to Nashville to pursue his solo career. Kevin is currently writing new songs and playing regularly in Nashville. Under the guidance of new management (Debra Fox, President of Image Development Group in St. Louis, Missouri) he is back on the road performing, promoting his CD, meeting and building his fan base and considering his options for the next record label opportunity. Kevin Blake Weldon --- keep your eye on this one. His rise to the top won?t take long!!!!
Based out of Memphis, The Tennessee Gentlemen have been entertaining bluegrass fans for over thirty years. In June of 2006 we went on a 10-day European Tour. Donny and Troy Castleberry, the founding members of the group, worked together for 25 years until Troy's death in 2000. Donny, along with his brother Doyle, decided to continue the group in the same fine tradition. The rhythm guitar player for the band, Donny sings 'sky high' tenor and lead vocals. He has played with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver and Signal Mountain. When not playing a festival with his own band, Donny performs with Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys. From Bluegrass rooted in the early seventies, Doyle came full circle with his music and joined his brother in 1994, forming a group called Neshoba. Neshoba morphed into the Tennessee Gentlemen. Coming from a background in rock, blues and country, his solid bass tempo drives the band. Doyle sings low lead, tenor and harmony vocals. He also occasionally plays the guitar on stage. Behind the scenes, Doyle keeps the website updated with performance photos and festival dates. Kent Coffey started taking guitar lessons from Jazz guitarist Gus Smith at age 9, and has been playing professionally since age 10. His father Lynn and brother Sam were his biggest influences and they had a family band until Lynn’s untimely death. Kent continued to play music with his brother Sam in various styles and configurations until they formed The Coffey Brothers’ Bluegrass Band around 1988. When Sam relocated after several years, Kent and his wife Beci continued with the band-now called The Buffalo City Ramblers. In addition to The Tennessee Gentlemen, Kent also plays with BCR, Carnes and the Heaters -a blues band formed with his musical mentor Carnes McCormick, and Swing Shift-a Jazz trio consisting of Kent and Beci and the above-mentioned Gus Smith. Sam Coffey has been playing music as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ozarks the son of a multi-instrumental father, Lynn and a very supportive mother, Nina and daughter Marie (Reebob). He has played at multiple venues and with various artist. Sam’s instrument of choice is the banjo, but he is also proficient on the guitar, bass, dobro and mandolin. He has played with Kitty Wells and Mac Wiseman, Donna Fargo and many more. He played with his brother in Coffey Brothers and is so thrilled to be playing with him again with the Tennessee Gentlemen. In South Dakota, Texas, Colorado, Missouri and Arkansas he was very active in the musical communities, playing in multiple bands one of his own Coffey and Co. where he played with his son, Dalton and wife, Tammy. Sam also, has a business, Coffey Custom Instruments where he builds and repairs acoustic instruments. He is now happy to be back home on the farm in Arkansas so he can be closer to his family and teach his grandson, Cane, to carry on the musical tradition...
Cook-Lamborn Biography Ray Cook and Matt Lamborn met in 1995 at a music store in Newburgh, NY ,where Ray took an interest in Matt?s various instrument playing talents. Soon after, Matt and Ray developed a unique bond in music and friendship. Their catchy country style has led them to play in many areas, ranging from Northeast NY ,down the East Coast ,Nashville Tennessee and beyond. In November of 2004, Ray and Matt decided to start a strong promotional team, and formed the Cook-Lamborn partnership, Hiring Ray Cook jr., Ray?s then 19 year old son, as graphic artist web and media designer. After establishing an online presence, Cook-Lamborn took on Nancy Squitieri as a promotional and booking manager, who later became Nancy Cook when she married Ray in June 2005. Being a family oriented team, Cook-Lamborn has taken on an identity of its own, and has since been extremely successful through family ties and the bonds of friendship. Ray Cook is a guitar player and the lead vocalist of Cook-Lamborn. He has been performing from NY to Nashville for 25 years.Ray has a unique touch and style, and is said to have convincing vocals, Ray believes that ?Every song sung must come from the heart?. Ray has had some ups and downs in his musical career, but has a strong will and determined attitude being completely focused on the Cook-Lamborn project. Ray has opened up for bands like Little Texas and has shared the stage with many great musicians. Matt Lamborn is lead guitarist ,but plays other instruments as well, including but not limited to Bass, Slide Guitar, Lap Steel and Mandolin. Matt began playing instruments at the age of nine and became an accomplished instrumentalist, spending five years at the Westchester Conservatory Of Music. He is currently a private Guitar instructor & has been performing in the Hudson Valley region for over 30 years. Ray & Matt reside in the Catskill Mountains in New York and perform often with a full band ,sometimes as a duet. They have also been asked to be guests on certain TV and radio stations ( such as X-Radio Nashville ) .
Whiskey Ricard moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the winter of 2006, relocating from Tallahassee, Florida and their home on the Florida State music scene. It was time to bring thir music to more people and places, and they have been loving every minute of it. "Nashville has opened our eyes to what it means to be in a real band," says Scott Taylor. "You can go to any bar on a Monday night and watch amazing bands playing 80s covers for tips, only to realize halfway through that these bands are composed of the best sidemen in the business. It makes you realize what you are up against." For the past 4 years, Whiskey Richard has been tearing up the Southeast music scene. Chris Dreyer and Scott Taylor met in the spring of 2001 while studying abroad in London. They recorded a demo and had their first taste of performing live at London's famed 12 Bar Club. "Playing in London was great because we had the support of all the kids on our program," Dreyer recalls. "We would book a small club and pack the place. It was a great introduction to performing my music live, but it was humbling to come back to the states and start from scratch." They knew they had something special and began to focus on getting their music heard. Dreyer and Taylor paid their dues as an acoustic act on the music scene at Florida State University, performing at every bar, dive, club, and party they could get their hands on. After over 100 shows for the booze/the door/tips/you name it, reality set in: it was time to build a full band from the ground up. Both players had a lot of experience performing, Dreyer received a degree from FSU in theatre, Taylor received his in music performance... on the trumpet. Taylor notes, "Guitar was something I always did, but never really focused on. I played the trumpet in school and got a scholarship for it, so I just stuck with it." Dreyer began playing guitar in college. "I never had any training," he concedes. "I just started learning bit by bit, and along with it, starting writing songs. As I got better at the playing, I got more adventurous with the writing, but the writing was always a big part of expressing myself. There are songs that we play in this band that I wrote within the first year of learning to play." After finding some players, the boys starting booking bigger shows and began playing out of town at neighboring college and beach towns. "We got a chance to play before we were really that great," says Chris, "but I think that really got us ready to perform quicker... because we had to entertain these crowds." Their big break came when they got their first gigs at Bullwinkle's in Tallahassee. It has named one of the Top 20 College Bars in America by Playboy. Mark Raudabaugh and Andrew Altman, the current rhythm section, came onboard during this time. "We had been playing in some cheesy cover bands," noted Altman, "and felt like this was a group in which we could really contribute and were excited to flesh out Chris's original material." Mark agreed. "The potential was immediately evident, and the quality of the writing blew me away." After playing 200 shows at Bullwinkle's and establishing a touring presence in the Southeast, the group decided to relocate to Nashville. "Nashville seemed like the next logical step," explains Dreyer. "All the label and A & R feedback we have received has come from Nashville. It is a songwriter's town, and it is a great place to tour from, being centrally located. " Taylor added, "We have so much planned for the next year: a few Southeast tours, an East Coast tour up to New York City, the West Coast in January. Moving to Nashville really was the catalyst for us to get busy and become a real band. We have been having a such a great time doing it. We can't complain."